As wireless and wireline networks converge and network configurations become increasingly complicated, realistic testing of end-to-end calls becomes more complicated and expensive. Networks may comprise any number of network entities that may, and typically are, manufactured by a wide variety of component manufacturers. Due to, among other reasons, the number of network components and network component costs, deployment of suitable network components in a test environment for evaluating one or more network entities or functions becomes prohibitively expensive and impractical.
Call testing in modern telecommunication systems is particularly problematic due to the fact that network systems may comprise components that are manufactured by multiple vendors. Depending on the routing complexity of a test call, deployment of a realistic test environment may be unfeasible. It is often prohibitively costly to acquire the requisite network components to realistically evaluate a particular network component or function.